1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to an aircraft and, in particular, to composite structures for the aircraft. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for a one-piece composite bifurcated winglet for the aircraft.
2. Background
Aircraft are being designed and manufactured with greater and greater percentages of composite materials. Composite materials are used in aircraft to decrease the weight of the aircraft. This decreased weight improves performance characteristics such as payload capacities and fuel efficiencies. Further, composite materials provide longer service life for various components in an aircraft.
Composite materials are tough, lightweight materials created by combining two or more functional components. For example, a composite material may include reinforcing fibers bound in a polymer resin matrix. The fibers may be unidirectional or may take the form of a woven cloth or fabric. The fibers and resins are arranged and cured to form a composite material.
In manufacturing composite structures, layers of composite material are typically laid up on a tool. The layers may be comprised of fibers in sheets. These sheets may take the form of fabrics, tape, tows, or other suitable forms. In some cases, resin may be pre-impregnated into the sheets. These types of sheets are commonly referred to as prepreg.
The different layers of prepreg may be laid up in different orientations and different numbers of layers may be used depending on the thickness of the composite structure being manufactured. These layers may be laid up by hand or by using automated lamination equipment such as a tape laminating machine or a fiber placement system.
After the different layers of composite material have been laid up on the tool, the layers of composite material may be consolidated and cured upon exposure to temperature and pressure, thus forming the final composite structure. Thereafter, the composite structure may be inspected to determine whether inconsistencies are present, and, if no inconsistencies are identified, the composite structure may be put in service.
Composite materials are used for winglets on an aircraft. The use of composite materials in winglets may reduce the weight of the aircraft as compared to using metal materials for the winglets.
In this illustrative example, a “winglet” refers to an angled extension of a wingtip of the aircraft. The angle, shape, and size of a winglet are unique to the application of the aircraft. Some winglets may be bifurcated winglets. In this illustrative example, a “bifurcated winglet” is a winglet that has two blades arranged at an angle relative to one another.
In some cases, however, winglets may be more complicated and costly to manufacture than desired. Moreover, as the complexity of composite winglets increases, the assembly and maintenance time for an aircraft also increases. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus that take into account at least some of the issues discussed above, as well as other possible issues.